ArticlePharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)2021
Did the Introduction of Biosimilars Influence Their Prices and Utilization? The Case of Biologic Disease Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs (bDMARD) in Bulgaria.
Article in Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Role of biosimilar introduction on insulin glargine prices: a retrospective analysis in 28 European countries.BMJ open · 2025Article
- A comparative analysis of biologics market dynamics in 12 countries: (Bio)similar and sustainability.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Biosimilar competition in European markets of TNF-alpha inhibitors: a comparative analysis of pricing, market share and utilization trends.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Article
- Emerging Insights into European Markets of Biologics, Including Biosimilars.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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Abstract
The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of the introduction of biosimilars in Bulgaria on the prices and utilization of biologic disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARD). It is a combined qualitative and quantitative analysis of time of entry of biosimilars on the national market and the respective changes in the prices and utilization during 2015-2020. We found 58 biosimilars for 16 reference products authorized for sale on the European market by the end of 2019, but for 2 of the reference products biosimilars were not found on the national market. Only inflammatory joint disease had more than one biosimilar molecule indicated for therapy. Prices of the observed bDMARD decreased by 17% down to 48%. We noted significant price decreases upon biosimilar entrance onto the market. In total, the reimbursed expenditures for the whole therapeutic group steadily increased from 72 to 99 million BGN. Utilization changed from to 0.5868 to 2.7215 defined daily dose (DDD)/1000inh/day. Our study shows that the entrance of biosimilars in the country is relatively slow because only half of the biosimilars authorized in Europe are reimbursed nationally. Introduction of biosimilars decreases the prices and changes the utilization significantly but other factors might also contribute to this.
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